Method and system for order fulfillment in a distribution center

ABSTRACT

Order allocation techniques that reduce the number of stops that a container makes in the process of fulfilling a customer order is disclosed. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by first identifying a pod that stocks the largest number of different items in a customer order. Then, a second pod is identified that stocks the largest number of remaining items in the customer order. Ultimately, all items in the customer order are assigned a pod. The collection of pods defines a container path through the distribution center.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/356,870, (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,532,947) filed Feb. 18, 2006 and titled“METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ORDER FULFILLMENT IN A DISTRIBUTION CENTER,”which is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, andwhich application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/568,571 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,139,637), filed May 10, 2000, and titled“ORDER ALLOCATION TO MINIMIZE CONTAINER STOPS IN A DISTRIBUTION CENTER,”which is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, andwhich claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/133,646, filed on May 11, 1999, and titled“ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ENABLED DELIVERY SYSTEM AND METHOD,” which ishereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

This application is also related to the following patent applications:(1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/568,603 (now U.S. Pat. No.7,177,825), titled “INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR ORDERING, FULFILLMENT, ANDDELIVERY OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS USING A DATA NETWORK,” (2) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/568,570 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,005), titled“INVENTORY REPLICATION BASED UPON ORDER FULFILLMENT RATES,” and (3) U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/568,569, (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,127B1), titled “ORDER ALLOCATION TO SELECT FROM INVENTORY LOCATIONSSTOCKING FEW UNITS OF INVENTORY,” all filed on May 10, 2000. Each of theabove-referenced US patent applications is incorporated herein byreference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to fulfilling customer orders from inventorythat has already been stocked within a distribution center. Morespecifically, this invention pertains to fulfilling an order by choosingspecific pods in a manner that minimizes the number of container stopsin the distribution center.

Distribution centers are buildings or regions where inventory is storedand used to fulfill orders for customers. Customers place orders byvarious modes such as by telephone, mail, Internet browsers, and thelike. To run a distribution center economically it should be run with ahigh “throughput.”

A distribution center's throughput is defined as the volume of inventoryor number of orders fulfilled in a given unit of time. The enterpriserunning the distribution center attempts to fulfill as many orders aspossible in the shortest amount of time. At least two parameters featureprominently in maximizing throughput: (a) useable inventory and (b) loadbalancing during order fulfillment. Usable inventory simply refers tothe amount of inventory that is immediately available for orderfulfillment. Obviously, if a distribution center has insufficientinventory to immediately fulfill all its orders, that distributioncenter cannot realize its potentially highest throughput. Load balancingrefers to consistently using all order fulfillment mechanisms availablefor fulfilling orders. If any of these mechanisms sit idle, throughputdrops off rapidly.

A given distribution center may have many order fulfillment mechanisms.In one example, the distribution center includes a conveyor thattransports a container to various locations, each of which has an orderfulfillment mechanism. One location may have a bank of carousels, eachcontaining numerous bins of inventory. Each bin holds one or more typesof inventory. When a container arrives at a carousel, it rotates itsinventory into a position where order items can be placed in thecontainer. Another order fulfillment mechanism in the distributioncenter may have a few aisles each containing multiple bins. A workermoves through the aisles to pick out requested items and place them inthe container. Other types of order fulfillment mechanisms may beemployed. A “pod” is a group of inventory locations all serviced fromthe same stop on the transport system (e.g., a conveyor stop). A pod maycontain any or more of the various types of order fulfillment mechanism.Each pod has one or more types of inventory available for “picking.”Picking refers to the operation of retrieving an item of inventory froma pod and placing it into a container. The container holds the variousitems that fulfill a given order.

Given that different customers have very different needs andpreferences, different orders provide wide and rather unpredictablevariation. Optimal load balancing to meet this variation presents aserious challenge. During a given week, for example, several groceryorders may require milk, but only a few of these require anchovies, afew others require spicy tofu, and still a few others require cottonswabs. In fulfilling these various orders, any one of these items couldpresent a throughput bottleneck. Controlling the position and path of acontainer used to fulfill an order can at least partially address thisproblem.

The present invention fills a need for better ways to fulfill customerorders within a distribution center.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a method and associated warehouse managementsystem that reduces the number of stops that a container makes in theprocess of fulfilling a customer order. According to one embodiment,this is accomplished by first identifying a pod that stocks the largestnumber of different items in a customer order. Then, a second pod isidentified that stocks the largest number of remaining items in thecustomer order. Ultimately, all items in the customer order are assigneda pod. The collection of pods defines a container path through thedistribution center.

One aspect of this invention provides a method of filling a customerorder in a distribution center having a plurality of pods. Each such podhas multiple inventory locations for storing a plurality of items. Themethod may be characterized by the following sequence: (a) identifyingitems and quantities of these items contained in the customer order; (b)identifying a first pod having the most items from the customer order;(c) allocating the order items found in the first pod to the first pod;(d) considering remaining order items not allocated to the first pod,identifying a second pod having the most remaining order items; and (e)allocating the remaining order items found in the second pod to thesecond pod. The process may continue to identify additional pods asnecessary to allocate the remaining items in the order. Allocating theorder items typically requires designating specific inventory fromspecific locations in the first pod as belonging to the customer order.It is, of course, possible that all items from a particular order willbe contained in the first pod. When this is the case, there is no needto locate a second pod.

Part of the allocation process may generate picking tasks to move thespecific inventory from its specific locations to a container for theorder. The customer order is fulfilled by stopping a container at leastthe first and second pods and picking allocated items at these pods andplacing them into the container.

Another aspect of the invention pertains to a distribution center havinginventory arranged for filling customer order. The distribution centermay be characterized by the following features: (a) at least one ambienthaving a plurality of pods; and (b) a warehouse management system foridentifying a first pod and a second pod and allocating customer orderitems to the first and second pods. The first pod will be the pod withinthe distribution center (or an ambient within the distribution center)stocking the most items from the customer order. The second pod will bethe pod that stocks the most remaining items from the customer orderafter other items have been allocated to the first pod. In addition tothe pods and the warehouse management system, the distribution centertypically will have a transport system such as a conveyor that moves acontainer from pod to pod in order till orders.

The distribution center may further include an automated materialhandling system that receives instructions from the warehouse managementsystem for fulfilling the customer orders. Specifically, the automatedmaterial handling system controls picking of inventory items fromspecific inventory locations to fulfill the customer order.

Often the distribution center will have a plurality of ambiences, eachwith its own collection of pods. In such cases, the customer order maybe divided into at least a first group of items stocked in a firstambient and a second group of items stocked in a second ambient. Theabove method may then be performed on the first group of items in thefirst ambient and separately performed on the second group of items inthe second ambient. The distribution center may have separatetransportation systems and containers for each ambient. Examples ofambients include refrigerators, freezers, room temperature ambients,humidors, and wine cellars.

Another aspect of the invention pertains to warehouse management systemsthat may be used as described above. The warehouse management system maybe characterized by the following features: (a) a database of inventorywithin the distribution center; and (b) logic for identifying a firstpod and a second pod and allocating customer order items to the firstand second pods. Allocating items to the pods may be performed inaccordance with an algorithm as outlined in the above discussion of amethod of this invention. The database specifies inventory locationswhere each of the items are stocked. Upon allocating the customer orderitems the warehouse management system may update the database ofinventory.

The inputs to the warehouse management system include customer ordersthat may specify at least a product ID and a quantity for each item ofthe customer order. The outputs to the warehouse management systeminclude picking tasks specifying at least an inventory location and aquantity to pick for the items from the customer orders. The pickingtask may also specify a specific container into which items from thecustomer order are to be placed.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will bedescribed in more detail below with reference to the associated figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a distribution center in which inventory isplaced based upon how rapidly it is consumed.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart depicting a high level start-to-finish orderfulfillment method that may be used in a distribution centerimplementing the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a process flow chart depicting a general procedure forallocating customer orders.

FIG. 3B is a process flow diagram depicting a general procedure forallocating specific order items that are subject to expiration.

FIG. 3C is a process flow diagram depicting a general procedure forallocating specific order items that are not subject to expiration.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an order fulfillment subsystem that may beemployed in accordance with an embodiment of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following discussion presents some terms and concepts pertinent tothe operation of a distribution center. The invention is notspecifically limited to the examples described hereafter.

Totes are storage containers used to hold products for transportation tothe consumer. There may be several different sizes of totes.Additionally, some totes may be designed for holding frozen andrefrigerated goods. In some embodiments, the totes are relatively sturdyand have closable lids.

Each tote may have an identifier to support automated movement throughthe distribution center by conveyor. For example, each tote can have abar code identifier that can be scanned as it moves past various pointsin the system. In this manner, a tote can be moved from a tote inductionarea to a specific pod or other location with the system tracking thelocation of the tote.

As indicated, the distribution center has a transport system such as aconveyor that moves totes and trays to pods and other locations withindistribution center. “Trays” are used to transport new inventory from areceiving station in the distribution center to individual pods withinthe distribution center. Identifiers on the trays allow them to beautomatically routed to specific destinations within the distributioncenter. In a specific embodiment, conveyors from Buschmann Company,Cincinnati, Ohio, are used. In another specific embodiment, softwarefrom SeayCo Integrators, Conyers, Ga. automates conveyor movement.

Generally, a pod is a collection of storage areas (inventory locationsor bins) within a distribution center. As mentioned, a singledistribution center may have several types of pods. Each of thedifferent pods and pod types may be adapted for different temperatures,e.g., frozen goods mechanized pod. The different pods and pod types mayalso be adapted for the rate of product movement, e.g., mechanized podsfor fast moving items.

Carousel pods include one or more carousels adjacent to one or moreconveyors. In one embodiment, each pod has three carousels adjacent totwo conveyors for incoming trays and totes. In some embodiments, twoadditional conveyors are provided: an express conveyor and an emptyconveyor. The express conveyor is used to transport totes directly fromthe carousel pod to the outbound distribution point for totes. The emptyconveyor is used to transport empty trays back to the receiving area toreceive new incoming products.

Generally, a carousel is a rotating high capacity storage area. Due tothe rotating design of the carousels, only items stored in a smallsection of the carousel can be easily accessed at a given time. Thistrade-off allows the carousels to store large numbers of items at theexpense of rapid access. One suitable carousel for use with thisinvention is available from Diamond Phoenix, Lewiston, Me.

Mechanized pods, or mechanical pods, are areas designed to hold thefaster moving, and also bulkier and heavier, products for easy access.Each mechanized pod may have inbound and outbound conveyors. Receivedproducts may be placed directly into the mechanical pod for storing.Because the mechanical pod items may also be bulkier and heavier thanother products, totes that include mechanical pod items may be sent tothe mechanical pod prior to the other pods.

Manual pods are areas where “fill to order” items such as produce, bulkfoods, pharmacy prescriptions, and/or prepared meals may be preparedand/or stored. The products in the manual pods are typically placed intotes last. Products in manual pods are customer specific preparations.Items are brought from fill to order preparation areas to the manualpods for placement (pick tasks) into totes.

A “pick task” is the retrieval of a product, or multiple quantities ofthe same product, to fill an order. Thus, an order for ten differentproducts would be comprised of ten pick tasks. However, if the orderincluded five bags of Brand X potato chips, that might be consolidatedinto a single pick task—depending on the number of bags of potato chipsin the pod. For example, if pod two had only two bags of potato chipsleft and pod three had the last three bags of potato chips, two picktasks would be required.

Carousel pick tasks may require the coordination of the conveyors totransport the tote to the appropriate pod with the carousels to bringthe appropriate storage tray to an accessible position. The pick taskmay be scheduled, or generated, prior to the actual physical movement ofthe product, or products, from a carousel location to a tote. Once thepick task is accomplished, the conveyor may move the tote to the nextdestination automatically. In some embodiments, a push button signal isemployed to allow the pick operator to signal that she/he has placed theproduct, or products, into the tote. Mechanized pick tasks can beaccomplished by using carts to move totes received on the inboundconveyor to the products. The products can then be put into the totesfor delivery. Once the necessary items are in the totes, the tote isplaced on the outbound conveyors. The process for manual pick tasks maybe similar to the mechanized pick task. The tote that arrives on theinbound conveyor is scanned. A list of locations with items for the toteis displayed. An operator retrieves the indicated items from the listedlocations and then transfers the tote on the outbound conveyor.

A put-away task is the storage of a product in a pod. The product mustbe stored in a temperature appropriate pod. For example, dairy productsmust be stored at certain temperatures to avoid spoilage. In addition,depending on the type of product, one of the different types of podswill be selected.

The carousels are used to store items in trays. Once the products havebeen placed in trays, they can either be sent by conveyor for direct putaway in the carousels or held on flow racks for later put away. Thescheduling of the put away can be based on product shipments, availableinventory, load, and other options.

Once the tray is received by conveyor at the carousel pod, audibleand/or visual annunciators may indicate the storage location for thetray. The carousel movements are coordinated with the conveyors so thatthe appropriate storage area of the carousel is available when the trayis to be stored. Weight planning can be used so that heavier trays arestored at or below waist level while lighter trays are stored at orabove waist level in the carousel.

FIG. 1 presents a highly simplified depiction of a distribution center101. In this figure, a tote 103 is introduced into a tote path in thedistribution center and moves about on a conveyor 105. It may stop atvarious pods as it moves throughout distribution center 101. At eachpod, a human being, a robot, or a specialized mechanical device picksitems from the pod and places them into the tote 103. At the end of theprocess, tote 103 is filled with items that are used to fill an order. Agiven order may require one or more totes filled with ordered items. Ifmore than one tote is required because, for example, the customer orderdoes not physically fit into a container, the order is preferablyseparated in a manner that keeps all items from one pod stop in the samecontainer if possible. This will minimize the total number of stops madeby all containers for the order/ambience.

In the example depicted in FIG. 1, there are two types of pods: amechanical pod 107 and carousels 109, 111, and 113. Various items, eachrepresenting a distinct inventory type, are provided in bins or otherportions of the pods. Thus, each pod may contain numerous inventorytypes. Often these inventory types are referred to as SKUs (StockKeeping Units). In a carousel, items are provided in particular bins,which are rotated into position next to conveyor 105 to facilitatepicking. In the example depicted in FIG. 1, carousel 109 has rotatedinto a temporary position with the items of SKU 02 available forpicking. Likewise, carousel 111 has items from SKU 05 available forpicking and carousel 113 has items from SKU 01 available for picking.Typically, when tote 103 stops at a conveyor position, it remains atthat location until all items available at the proximate pod are pickedand put into the tote (assuming that those items are necessary to fillan order associated with tote 103).

As mentioned, each different item of inventory is associated with arespective SKU. For reference, a “product” is a grouping of SKUs.Product information is higher level information that is pertinent to allSKUs in the grouping. It often defines a brand. A “category” is an evenhigher level classification based on how customers would expect productsto be logically grouped. For example, the category “potato chips” mayinclude the products “Brand X” potato chips and “Brand Y” potato chips.Further, the Brand X potato chip products may include a 16-ounce Brand Xpotato chips item (associated with a first SKU) and a 20-ounce Brand Xpotato chips item (associated with a second SKU).

While FIG. 1 shows a distribution center having only one area thatcontains all the pods, a typical distribution center may have multiplezones or ambiences which dictate special storage or handling. Forexample, a distribution center may have three main temperature zones forproducts: ambient, refrigerated, and frozen. And within these threezones, there may be specific ambiences for specialty items, e.g., forflowers, cigars, wines, and chocolates. Wines and cigars can be stockedambiences having specific temperature and humidity controls. Other itemsmay be deemed fragile and therefore stocked or handled separately fromother items. Further, a distribution center may have kitchens, bakeries,deli departments, pharmacies, and other facilities to provide certainproducts.

In one sense, each ambience may be viewed as a separate distributioncenter within a larger distribution center that has multiple ambiences.To the extent that this discussion refers to a “distribution center”that discussion applies equally to an ambience within a largerdistribution center. Thus, each zone or ambience may have its owncollection of pods, conveyance mechanisms, computer systems, etc.

From the above discussion, it should be apparent that the stockedinventory has certain relevant attributes. These may be represented indatabase records or specialized data structures, for example. Awarehouse management system or other logic may use such attributes tofacilitate control and analysis of the distribution center. Obviously,each SKU will have its own product ID. Another important attribute ofinventory units is the “pod” in which an inventory item is located.Another important attribute of specific inventory locations is theexpiration date of items that expire (e.g., milk, yogurt, bacon, etc.).The expiration of a given item may be defined very specifically in termsof a particular day or time within a day. As indicated in the discussionof FIG. 1B, it may sometimes be more appropriate to define an expirationinterval over a period of multiple days. For items that do not expire(e.g., canned goods, pretzels, etc.), it is less critical to ensure thatthese items are distributed before a particular expiration date.However, it is still important to make sure that the oldest items arecleared out of the distribution center. Therefore, another attribute ofnon-expiry items is the date that they were received within thedistribution center.

Another important attribute of items within a distribution center is thenumber of units of such item at any given inventory location within thedistribution center. Some items may be stored at more than one inventorylocation in the distribution center, possibly over multiple pods. Thesevarious inventory locations may contain different numbers of units ofthe same inventory item.

To run a distribution center economically, throughput should bemaximized. Generally, maximizing throughput means maximizing the numberof picks per unit time. This can be accomplished by tuning at leastthree parameters: (1) the distribution of loading over the multiple podsof a distribution center, (2) the number of container stops during thecourse of filling an order, and (3) the location of frequently purchaseditems.

A well-balanced loading implies that the picks in a distribution centerare relatively evenly balanced over its multiple pods. This means thatat any given time, all or most of the pods can be engaged in fillingorders. As a result, each of the pods can be productively used over mostof the course of a day. As described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/568,570 , previously incorporated by reference, this state can beapproached by intelligently replicating inventory items over multiplepods.

Generally, each additional container stop further lengthens the amountof time required to fill an order. Thus, an order allocation systemshould allocate order items in a manner that results in the fewestnumber of pod stops. A general approach to accomplishing this isdescribed below with reference to FIG. 3A.

Items can be stored at various heights in an aisle, a carousel, or othercollection of storage locations in a pod. Typically, a human being picksthe items from these storage locations. Certain rules can be formulatedto protect workers and increase their efficiency. For example, veryheavy items should not be stored at higher storage locations. Fastmoving items should be stored in a so-called “golden zone.” Items inthis zone are stored at about chest height to allow rapid picking.

To put the present invention in a larger context, one suitable orderfulfillment process flow will now be depicted with reference to FIG. 2.Understand that various order fulfillment process flows may benefit fromthe technology of this invention. In FIG. 2, an order fulfillment flow201 is depicted. Typically, this flow will be controlled and implementedby one or more computer systems associated with a distribution center.The process begins at 203 with an order arriving for fulfillment. Suchorder may arrive via mail, telephone, the Internet, etc. In a preferredembodiment, the order is provided as a computer readable file in astandard format.

Next, at 205, order allocation takes place. This typically involvesmatching an order with particular inventory stored in a distributioncenter and determining where that inventory is located. It may alsoinvolve marking inventory within the distribution center as “outbound”under the assumption that such inventory will be picked to fill theorder. Still further, the allocation process may determine the number oftotes needed to fulfill the order and design the path for each tote tofollow while the order is being filled. This path will specify variouspods at which the tote stops to have particular items picked to fill theorder. Certain aspects of the allocation process will be elaborated onbelow in the discussion of FIGS. 3A-3C.

After allocation, one or more tote is inducted (207) into the system andbegins passing through the distribution center according to itspre-specified path. As it travels through the distribution center, itstops at various pods where a computer system presents instructions forpickers to pick selected items for the order. In a preferred embodiment,pickers place specified order items into the tote, and verify the orderitem fulfillment by scanning each item placed into the tote, as well asthe tote's license plate ID, with a handheld computing device (e.g., RFgun). Alternatively, or for certain pod types such as carousels, theworker pushes a button to verify order fulfillment. After the picker hasconfirmed placement of the specified items into the designated tote, thetote is then reintroduced to the automated tote transport system, whereit continues to travel along its designated tote path. Information aboutthe picked items is fed back to a central computer system which tracksorder fulfillment and inventory. The tote is routed through various podlocations until the order is completely filled. See 209. The tote pathmay be dynamically and automatically altered if problems are detected inany portion of the DC operations.

After all items have been picked and confirmed for a particular tote,the tote is routed to a shipping spur at 211. At this point, the totecontains all inventory items that are required to fulfill its portion ofthe order. A shipping component of the distribution center can now takeover processing the order. At 213, workers or mechanical systems placethe tote onto a dolly, which may include other totes intended for aspecific delivery route. At 215, workers or mechanical systems load thedollies and totes onto trucks destined for specified locations. Thetrucks deliver orders to the customers who have placed orders. At thispoint, the order fulfillment process is completed. The distributioncomputer system may be notified of a shipment confirmation.

After the order has been fulfilled and processed for shipment, the OFSprovides post fulfillment status data relating to the customer order.The post fulfillment status data may include, for example, the number oftotes and the physical license plate ID of each tote associated with thecustomer order, the ID of each shipping dolly used to transport thetotes to and from the delivery trucks, and/or the vehicle ID associatedwith the shipped order. The post fulfillment status data may be relayedto a front office that interfaces with customers.

Turning now to FIGS. 3A through 3C, one suitable process for allocatingan order in accordance with this invention is depicted. As shown in FIG.3A, the high level process is depicted by reference number 205, whichcorresponds to the “allocate order” operation illustrated in FIG. 2.

The order allocation process 205 begins at 303 with the orderfulfillment subsystem receiving an order having enumerated items andquantities. Such order may arise in a variety of formats such as a flatfile, or a specially formatted data structure. The enumerated items mayrepresent individual SKUs and may be identified by product IDs. Theorder may also include customer information.

After receipt of the customer order, the order fulfillment subsystemnext identifies the inventory within the distribution center that isavailable for allocation to this particular customer order. See 305. Ina preferred embodiment, the distribution center is stocked withinventory that is sometimes replicated. In other words, the inventory isstocked at more than one inventory location within the distributioncenter. As described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/568,570,replicating inventory in this manner can improve the throughput of thedistribution center. In any event, the order fulfillment subsystempreferably identifies all available inventory that can be used tofulfill the order in question.

After such inventory has been identified, the order fulfillmentsubsystem searches for the particular pod within the distribution centerthat can handle the most items from the customer order. See 307. Becauseone of the goals of this invention is to ensure high throughput, theorder fulfillment subsystem attempts to design a tote path that requiresthe fewest number of stops. By identifying a pod that can supply many ofthe order items, the system begins the process of reducing the number oftote stops.

After the search depicted at 307 concludes, the order fulfillmentsubsystem determines whether any pods are found that can handle at leastone item from the customer order. See 309. Typically this will be thecase, at least during the first pass through process 205. It may occurin later passes (note that process 205 includes a loop containingoperations 307, 309, and 311) that no pods are found having an inventorylocation with enough units to fulfill an order line.

In any event, assuming that a pod is found at 309 as a result of thesearch conducted at 307, the order fulfillment subsystem allocates allthe order items to the pod located in the search, so long as those itemsare actually stocked with the pod. See 311. As described in more detailbelow with reference to FIG. 3B, this allocation process designatesspecific inventory from specific locations and generates picking tasksfor picking the inventory from such locations.

Now, after the specific items stocked within the pod of interest havebeen allocated, they no longer need to be considered. The process ofallocating the remaining order items is handled by looping back to 307where the order fulfillment subsystem searches for the pod that canhandle the most as yet unallocated order items. In a desired scenario, asecond pod within the distribution center will stock a number of theremaining unallocated order items. Assuming this is the case, the systemwill determine that the appropriate pod was found at 309, on the secondpass through the system.

The process continues in this manner, looping through operations 307,309, and 311, until, hopefully, no further order items remain in thecustomer order at issue. At that point, no pods will be found at 309(because there are no additional order lines to process). When this isthe case, the order allocation process is effectively completed.

Note, however, that in some cases order items may remain, for which nopods can be found to fully satisfy the order. This may occur when, forexample, no single inventory location within the distribution centercontains a sufficient quantity of the inventory required to satisfy aparticular order line. It may be that a sufficient quantity of such itemis available within the distribution center collectively over two ormore inventory locations in different pods. To address the situation,the order allocation process 205 identifies any pods that cancollectively provide the remaining order items. See 313 on the negativepath from decision 309. Units of inventory from these pods then can beallocated to fulfill the customer order.

One example of a specific process for allocating order items to a pod isdepicted in FIG. 3B. This general process corresponds to operation 311depicted in FIG. 3A. The goal here is to reserve specific items ofinventory from specific inventory locations within a selected pod.

As shown in FIG. 3B, process 311 begins at 319 with the orderfulfillment subsystem receiving order items to be allocated to specificinventory locations in the current pod. Next, the order fulfillmentsubsystem determines whether the current order item is an expiry controlitem at 321. As indicated, expiry control items are those which have adefined expiration point, typically defined by an expiration date.Examples include milk and most dairy products, produce, meats, etc.

Assuming that the current order item is an expiry control item, the OFSnext identifies an available inventory location within the pod thatstocks the earliest expiring inventory units. Thus, for example, a podhaving two inventory locations stocking Mother Earth brand non-fat milkin one gallon containers would be analyzed by the OFS to determinedwhich of these locations contains the sooner expiring milk. Intuitively,one would expect that the system would always select the earliestexpiring inventory to fulfill a current order. In the process of thisinvention, as depicted in FIG. 3B, however, additional considerationsapply.

For example, it is possible that two or more locations within the podmeet this soonest expiring criterion. The order fulfillment subsystemdetermines whether this is the case at 325. If so, the order fulfillmentsubsystem chooses the location having the fewest units. See 327. This isdone to quickly clear out stock locations that have only a few units ofinventory. As such, this algorithm helps make the most of thedistribution center's carrying costs. Note, however, that choosing aninventory location having the fewest units can be counter intuitive.Very often, customer orders require multiple units of a particular item(e.g., two six-packs of Coke). By enforcing this algorithm, some times asingle location will not supply the entire quantity required by acustomer order line.

In any event, after choosing the inventory location at 327, the orderfulfillment subsystem next allocates the required order units out of theselected location. See 329. Then the subsystem determines whether thequantity required by the order is satisfied in the chosen location. See331. If so, process control moves to 333 (described below). If not, theprocess loops back to 323 where the OFS identifies available inventorylocations stocking the “next soonest” expiring inventory units. Theprocess then proceeds to decision 325 as described above (only thistime, later expiring inventory units are considered). If two locationscontain units meeting the same soonest expiring criteria (e.g., units inboth locations expire on the same day), but the chosen location does nothave enough units to satisfy the order, then the location having the“next soonest expiring inventor units” identified at 323 is a locationhaving the same expiration window as the previous location. Note thatwhen the OFS determines that only a single location meets the soonestexpiring criterion (decision 325 is answered in the negative), processcontrol proceeds directly to allocation operation 329.

After determining that the quantity required by the order is satisfiedat 331, the OFS next determines whether any more items remain to beallocated from the current pod. See decision 333. If so, the next orderitem is considered at 335 and the process loops back to decision 321where the OFS determines whether this next order item is an expirycontrol item. When there are no more items to be allocated within thepod under consideration, the process finishes.

Note that when the current order item is not an expiry control item(e.g., decision 321 is answered in the negative), process control movesto 337 where the OFS selects one or more locations for the non-expiryorder item. This process is depicted in further detail in FIG. 3C. Asshown there, process 337 begins at 343 with the OFS creating an orderedlist of inventory locations for the order item under consideration. Theordered list is sorted based on input dates. Thus, for example, a cartonof soup arriving at the distribution center in January of a particularyear would be sorted above an identical carton of soup arriving at thedistribution center in March of the same year.

After creating such ordered list, the OFS next considers the location ofthe oldest units in the list. See 345. It then determines whether thislocation has enough units to satisfy the customer order line. Seedecision 347. If so, it simply allocates the units from the selectedlocation at 349 and the process is then complete for that order item.However, if the location of interest does not have enough units, the OFSmay consider the next oldest units in the ordered list. In the algorithmdepicted in FIG. 3C, the OFS will do this for a fixed number (M) oftimes. As illustrated, when decision 347 is answered in the negative,the OFS determines whether it has checked more than M differentlocations. See decision 351. So long as the OFS has not checked morethan M locations in its effort to identify a location having enoughunits to fulfill the order line, the process loops back to 345. There,the OFS considers the location for the oldest units that were notpreviously considered.

In order to efficiently allocate orders, the system will not check morethan M separate locations. In a specific embodiment, M is configurable,with a default value of 3. After M such checks, decision 351 is answeredin the affirmative. At that point, the OFS identifies any pods that cancollectively provide the remaining order items. See 353. This operationis analogous to operation 313 described in the context of FIG. 3A. Aftersuch pods have been identified, the process is complete.

As indicated, the distribution center, which may include a system ofconveyers, carousels, scanners, and hand-held computing units forautomating both the order fulfillment (outbound) and inventoryrestocking (inbound) processes, can be managed by the Order FulfillmentSubsystem. As shown in FIG. 4, an Order Fulfillment Subsystem 401manages all functionality of the distribution center including aconveyor and associated scanners 415 and pods such as carousels 419. Ingeneral, OFS 401 includes appropriate hardware and/or software formanaging the distribution facility. Such management hardware and/orsoftware includes, for example, a warehouse management system (e.g.software application) 403 and an automated material handling (AMH)controller component 411, which manages the conveyor, carousel, andscanner components via a conveyor server 413 and a carousel server 417.

In a specific implementation, warehouse management system 403 may beconfigured with a set of business rules that set forth some or allfunctions of the present invention. In a very specific example, system403 is a specially modified and adapted variation of the MOVE warehousemanagement system provided by Optum, Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif.

Warehouse management system 403 has at least one database 407 associatedtherewith and at least a graphical user interface 405. Interface 405allows certain warehouse personnel to access system 403 and querydatabase 407, for example. It also allows such personnel to monitordistribution center operations and/or manually allocate orders.

Database 407 includes records for all inventory items stocked in thedistribution center. In a specific embodiment, the database records mayinclude at least a product ID, an inventory location, a quantity and astate. The state may specify the number of units of the product that areoutbound (allocated), inbound (received at the distribution center butnot yet putaway to its inventory location) or on hand. On hand items areall items currently physically located in the distribution center,outbound items are on hand items that have been allocated to an orderbut not yet picked. When an outbound item is picked, the on hand andoutbound values for that item are decremented. In a preferredembodiment, database 407 provides inventory information that allowscustomers to place orders. To determine whether sufficient inventory ispresent to fill an order line, the system may consider the value of onhand units minus outbound units.

Warehouse management system 403 also communicates with handheldcomputing devices 409 via a wireless interface such as, for example, aradio frequency (RF) interface. The handheld computing devices 409 areused by the distribution center employees to perform and/or confirminventory movement operations.

The warehouse system also provides an interface to other distributionsystem hardware/software, which allows it to receive customer orders forfulfilling. The order data, which is transferred to the OFS subsystem,may include both SKU data (as product IDs), quantities, customerinformation, and transportation/delivery data (e.g. delivery vehicleroutes, stops, etc.). In a specific embodiment, the software interfaceis implemented using a business host interface (BHI). The interface mayalso allow other software/hardware components of the distribution centerto communicate with the OFS database 407.

The warehouse management system 403 communicates instructions (e.g. tasklists) to the automated material handling controller (AMH) 411.Importantly, system 403 outputs picking tasks which specify, forexample, an inventory location, a quantity to pick, a container (tote),and an order line for a customer order. The AMH controller 411 processesthe instructions and manages the conveyor server 413 and carousel server417. The carousel server 417 and the conveyor server 413 may eachinclude a respective database. The carousel server 417 issues controlsignals to the carousel client 419, which drives the carousel hardwareand controls the carousel movement. Similarly, the conveyor server 413processes instructions from the AMH, and issues control signals to theconveyor client 415, which drives and controls the conveyor scannerhardware used for routing inventory and for managing traffic.Additionally, the conveyor client 413 and the carousel client may beconfigured with an interface for monitoring the status of the conveyorand carousel hardware.

This invention is preferably implemented as software stored ortransmitted on a machine-readable medium and executed on a processor.The invention may also be implemented on firmware provided with aprocessor for executing instructions specified by the firmware. In analternative embodiment, the invention is implemented on speciallydesigned or configured processing hardware.

Because program instructions and data may be employed to implement thesystems/methods described herein, the present invention relates tomachine-readable media that include program instructions, velocity data,etc. for performing various operations described herein (e.g., groupinginventory items based on their location on a velocity curve andlogically distributing those items in put away regions of a distributioncenter). Examples of machine-readable media include, but are not limitedto, magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape;optical media such as CD-ROM disks; magneto-optical media; and hardwaredevices that are specially configured to store and perform programinstructions, such as read-only memory devices (ROM) and random accessmemory (RAM). The invention may also be embodied in a carrier wavetravelling over an appropriate medium such as airwaves, optical lines,electric lines, etc. Examples of program instructions include bothmachine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containinghigher level code that may be executed by the computer using aninterpreter.

Although certain preferred embodiments of this invention have beendescribed in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings,it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to theseprecise embodiments, and at various changes and modifications may beeffected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from thescope of spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for a distribution center with aplurality of sites, each site having a collection of storage areas tostore a plurality of items, the system comprising: a management systemconfigured to (a) receive and analyze at least a first customer orderand a second customer order, each of the first and second customerorders indicating a plurality of items, with a quantity for each item;(b) identify a first site with the highest number of items in the firstcustomer order available from the first site, and a second site with thehighest number of items in the second customer order available from thesecond site; (c) determine the items remaining in the first end secondcustomer orders after removing those corresponding items identified asbeing available from the first and the second sites; (d) thereafter foreach of the first and second customer orders, identify another site withthe highest number of the items remaining in the corresponding orderavailable from the another site; and (e) determine the items remainingin the first and second customer orders, if any, after removing thosecorresponding items identified as being available from the correspondinganother site; and wherein the system for the distribution center isconfigured to control a plurality of conveyors in the distributioncenter to at least route the identified items for fulfilling thecustomer orders, wherein based on the identified sites, the systemdetermines at least a first route to fulfill the first customer orderand a second route to fulfill the second customer order, with the firstroute going to the first site before going to the corresponding anothersite, and with the second route going to the second site before going tothe corresponding anther site.
 2. A system as recited in claim 1,wherein the management system is further configured to identify anysites that collectively provide the items remaining in the firstcustomer order after removing all the items previously identified asbeing available from the plurality of sites.
 3. A system as recited inclaim 1, wherein the management system is further configured to repeatthe operations (d) and (e) once after the operation (e).
 4. A system asrecited in claim 1, wherein the management system is further configuredto repeat the operations (d) and (e) a plurality of times, after theoperation (e).
 5. A system as recited in claim 4, wherein the managementsystem is further configured to identify any sites that collectivelyprovide the items remaining in the first customer order after removingall the items identified as being available from the plurality of sites.6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the management system isfurther configured to provide an indication as to the location in thefirst site of an item identified in the first site, so as to helpmanually retrieve the identified item from the first site for fulfillingthe first customer order.
 7. A system as recited in claim 6, wherein theindication is provided audibly to a person to manually retrieve theidentified item.
 8. A system as recited in claim 6, wherein theindication is provided visually to a person to manually retrieve theidentified item.
 9. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the systemis configured to use information from a handheld computing device via awireless interface, with the handheld computing device being used by aperson regarding movement of an identified item in the distributioncenter.
 10. A system as recited in claim 9, wherein the handheldcomputing device includes a scanner to allow a person to scaninformation regarding the identified item.
 11. A system as recited inclaim 9, wherein the handheld computing device communicates via thewireless interface with another computing device regarding movement ofthe identified item in the distribution center.
 12. A system as recitedin claim 1, wherein the first route is configured for a container tofollow, with the first route including a stop at the first site to havean identified item at the first site picked and placed into thecontainer to fulfill the first customer order.
 13. A system as recitedin claim 12, wherein the system is configured to direct a person tomanually pick the identified item to be placed into the container forfulfilling the first customer order.
 14. A system as recited in claim13, wherein the system is configured to have the container loaded onto atruck for delivering the first customer order to the customer.
 15. Asystem as recited in claim 12, wherein the management system is furtherconfigured to alter the first route in view of a problem detected in thedistribution center while the container is on its way to the first site.16. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one site includes acarousel with a collection of storage areas to store a plurality ofitems, and wherein the controller is further configured to control thecarousel.
 17. A system as recited in claim 16, wherein the controller isfurther configured to use a scanner for routing an identified itemthrough the distribution center for fulfilling the first customer order.18. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one site includes acarousel with a collection of storage areas to store a plurality ofitems, and wherein at least one other site includes mechanical storagemechanisms to store bulkier and heavier items than items stored in thestorage areas of the carousel.
 19. A computer-implemented method tomanage a distribution center with a plurality of sites, each site havinga collection of storage areas to store a plurality of items, the methodcomprising: receiving and analyzing at least a first customer order anda second customer order, each of the first an the second customer ordersindicating a plurality of items, with a quantity for each item;identifying a first site with the highest number of items in the firstcustomer order available from the first site, and a second site with thehighest number of items in the second customer order available from thesecond site; determining the items remaining in the first and secondcustomer orders after removing those corresponding items identified asbeing available from the first and the second sites; thereafter for eachof the first and second customer orders, identifying another site withthe highest number of the items remaining in the corresponding orderavailable from the another site; determining the items remaining in thefirst and second customer orders, if any, after removing thosecorresponding items identified as being available from the correspondinganother site; and controlling a plurality of conveyors in thedistribution center to route the identified items for fulfilling thecustomer orders, wherein based on the identified sites, the methodfurther determines at least a first route to fulfill the first customerorder and a second route to fulfill the second order, with the firstroute going to the first site before going to the corresponding anothersite, and with the second route going to the second site before going tothe corresponding another site.
 20. A system for a distribution centerwith a plurality of sites, each site having a collection of storageareas to store a plurality of items, the system comprising: a managementsystem configured to (a) receive and analyze at least a first customerorder and a second customer order, each of the first and second customerorders indicating a plurality of items, with a quantity for each item;(b) identify a first site with the highest number of items in the firstcustomer order available from the first site, and a second site with thehighest number of items in the second customer order available from thesecond site; (c) determine the items remaining in the first and secondcustomer orders after removing those corresponding items identified asbeing available from the first and the second sites; (d) thereafter foreach of the first and second customer orders, identify another site withthe highest number of the items remaining in the corresponding orderavailable from the another site; and (e) determine the items remainingin the first and second customer orders, if any, after removing thosecorresponding items identified as being available from the correspondinganother site; and wherein based on the identified sites, the systemdetermines at least a first route to fulfill the first customer orderand a second route to fulfill the second customer order, with the firstroute going to the first site before going to the corresponding anothersite, and with the second route going to the second site before going tothe corresponding another site.